Facebook admits that the Linux topic crackdown was 'in error' and has been fixed

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'Discussions of Linux are allowed on our services,' insists the social media giant.

DistroWatch socials on the web
(Image credit: Future)

Facebook's heavy-handed censorship of Linux groups and topics was "in error," the social media juggernaut has admitted. Responding to reports earlier this week, sparked by the curious censorship of the eminently wholesome DistroWatch, Facebook contacted PCMag to say that it had made a mistake and that the underlying issue had been rectified.

"This enforcement was in error and has since been addressed. Discussions of Linux are allowed on our services," said a Meta rep to PCMag. That is the full extent of the statement reproduced by the source. Still, it helps us to dismiss various conspiracy theories about the Silicon Valley establishment feeling threatened by the open source movement. Like most big companies, Meta seems slow to respond and react to gaffes that adversely affect users.

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Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • COLGeek
    With the changes made to their rules, I would expect more "in errors" in the future. Users need to be fully aware of what they are being "fed" on this, and similar, platforms. They need to understand how the algorithms work and how they will "double down" on topics.

    Feeding non-factual "news", stuffing ads down your throat in an attempt to get your money into someone else's pocket, and platforms for endless scammers has made social media a cesspool for malicious activity.

    Please be smart, discerning, and protect yourself when using.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    Seems more likely its because FB is turning on a new shadowban system to suppress posts Zuck doesn't like while not officially "banning" them. But the system is too aggressive, possibly some programmer giving us all a hint that its there. Though chances equal the programmers are just that bad at their job.

    Please don't forget the "mysterious" banning of words like "democrat" that happened just last week across all Meta platforms. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g32yxpdz0o
    Reply
  • evdjj3j
    Why does anyone use FB anymore. Every post in my feed is either AI generated pictures or posts by Life Tips.
    Reply
  • davisch
    The censorship pendulum swings... This is whey we need to be principled and always oppose censorship, regardless of how much we dislike the people speaking (or writing). The reigns will change hands and the powers you cheer for today will be powers you cry because of tomorrow.
    Reply
  • Evildead_666
    Today it's Linux stuff, tomorrow its any free speech.

    Wake up and smell the roses, ditch FB/IG/anything by them.

    Get your "News" elsewhere.
    X/Twitter is being lambasted for being "Non Censored".
    You should think about that for a bit.

    If you're going to be on platforms that prone censorship, just remember who does the censoring (it isn't you ;-) )
    Reply
  • LibertyWell
    Uhh Microsft owns a healthy chunk of facebook. They last thing they want is for folks to know there are alternatives to winblows 11
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Evildead_666 said:
    Today it's Linux stuff, tomorrow its any free speech.
    Yeah, it really should give us pause how long it took FB to rectify this, when it has thousands of hard-core Linux users & devs among its employees. I assume some internal advocacy is what ultimately broke the logjam. I wonder what chance other topics face, without such help.

    Evildead_666 said:
    Wake up and smell the roses, ditch FB/IG/anything by them.
    100%. I can understand using it to communicate with family members who won't use anything else, but for an org like DistroWatch, it seems obvious to me that Mastadon is a better choice.

    Evildead_666 said:
    X/Twitter is being lambasted for being "Non Censored".
    Oh, it's censored. Musk only values free speech when it's not about him. Furthermore, it's clear that he views X as a tool for spreading propaganda and disinformation.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    LibertyWell said:
    Uhh Microsft owns a healthy chunk of facebook. They last thing they want is for folks to know there are alternatives to winblows 11
    That was true maybe 10-20 years ago. Today, Microsoft has their own Linux distro.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Linux
    They even contribute directly to the Linux kernel, but it seems their activity has fallen off a bit, lately.
    https://lwn.net/Articles/997959/
    Reply
  • MobileJAD
    Why on earth does anyone even use Facebook or Twitter anymore? On one hand they are both full of misinformation but also they are full of AI generated crap and bots.
    Reply
  • Joseph_138
    Facebook is bleeding users, and is rapidly becoming the next Myspace, and is doing everything they can to stem the outflow.
    Reply